Getting your food to go in Styrofoam could soon be no more in Cupertino.

The Cupertino City Council will be looking at a ban on expanded polystyrene--commonly known as Styrofoam food ware--during a public hearing on Jan. 21. The council will consider passing an ordinance that could bar restaurants and other prepared food services from distributing the not-so-eco-friendly foam food packaging.

The council will consider a draft ordinance that would allow Cupertino businesses to select any alternatives to foam food containers appropriate for their needs. The ordinance could also include exemptions for financial hardship and cases where suitable alternatives do not exist.

The ordinance will be quite similar to a ban that took effect in San Jose this month, with the exception that all restaurateurs will be affected immediately. San Jose's foam food container ordinance is first requiring compliance from multi-state restaurant chains in 2014. The second phase will take effect at all other restaurants, including mobile and street vendors, on Jan. 1, 2015.

The move has been in the works for nearly two years. Last January, the Cupertino council adopted an ordinance prohibiting the distribution of free single-use plastic carryout bags in most retail shops in the city. It took effect in October.

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The council initiated the ban despite reluctance from some council members to comply with mandates from the San Francisco Bay Regional Water Quality Control Board and cut down on litter in the city. Cupertino is among 70 municipalities that discharge rainwater into San Francisco Bay and is required to submit a trash reduction plan to the water quality control board.

The bag ban is one of a number of choices Santa Clara County cities are considering in their efforts to cut down on trash making its way into creeks, streams and waterways to appease the water quality control board. Before July 1, Cupertino will need to cut its trash by 40 percent; in 2017, by 70 percent; and by 100 percent in July 2022, according to a January city staff report.

A polystyrene ban is another option. Lightweight foam food containers are made from non-renewable resources and typically end up in landfills or as litter. They can also be blown into waterways because of their light weight. Foam food containers also often break into pieces and can be mistaken for food and ingested by wildlife, according to city staff.

Cupertino City Council meetings typically begin at 6:45 p.m. at Cupertino Community Hall, 10350 Torre Ave., between Cupertino City Hall and the Cupertino Library.